Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater th

Hello Everyone!

This is a great example of a GMAT question that focuses on PARALLELISM! Let's start off by doing a quick scan over the options and highlighting any major differences we see in orange:

Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained
B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain
C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain
D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained
E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain

After a quick scan over the options, a few key differences jump out:

1. that / on the unlikelihood that
2. continue / continuing / would continue
3. that / for / with
4. remained / to remain

If we look more carefully at the sentence, we can spot what type of question this is:

Although the rise in the Producer Price Index was greater than expected, most analysts agreed that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained essentially under control.

When looking at the sentence as a whole, we see that the underlined portion contains the 2 things that analysts agree on - and those 2 things MUST be parallel! Any time you see a grouping of items, parallelism is a good place to start! Let's check each option to ensure the 2 items are parallel:

A. that the index was unlikely to continue going up and that inflation remained --> PARALLEL

B. that it was unlikely for the index continuing to go up and for inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

C. that the index was unlikely to continue to go up, with inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

D. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue going up and that inflation remained --> NOT PARALLEL

E. on the unlikelihood that the index would continue to go up and for inflation to remain --> NOT PARALLEL

There you have it - option A is the only one that uses parallel structure for both items! If you can identify what type of SC question you're dealing with, it is a lot easier to check for common mistakes (parallelism, modifiers, subject-verb agreement, etc.).


Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it.